In a conventional boiling-water reactor as is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 121389/1979, the reactor core is loaded with a fuel assembly which has a pipe (hereinafter referred to as water rod) in which the cooling water only flows to decelerate the neutrons. Under the operation conditions of the conventional boiling-water reactor, the water rod exhibits an increased reactivity with the increase in the number of hydrogen atoms for uranium atoms, enabling the nuclear fuel substances loaded in the reactor core to be effectively utilized.
In order to more effectively use the nuclear fuel substances, furthermore, it is recommended to change the number of hydrogen atoms in the reactor core as the nuclear fuel substances burn.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 125390/1982 and 125391/1982 teach one of the methods. That is, according to these patent publications, provision is made of slow neutron-absorbing water purge rods and intermediate neutron-absorbing water purge rods constituted by a stainless steel which has a larger reactivity value than that of the above water purge rods, and the amount of the cooling water in the reactor core is adjusted by controlling the amount for inserting the water purge rods in the reactor core. The water purge rods serve as means for changing the number of hydrogen atoms in the reactor core. The amount of the cooling water in the reactor core decreases with the increase in the amount for inserting the water purge rods in the reactor core, and the amount of the cooling water increases in the reactor core with the decrease in the amount of insertion. According to the above-mentioned method, water purge rods of different kinds must be newly provided and must be operated by drive means, requiring complex structure and cumbersome operation.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 38589/1986 discloses a fuel assembly which employs static means in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. According to this patent publication, the number of hydrogen atoms is changed by providing fuel rods having a low uranium 235 concentration in the water rod of fuel assembly, and by utilizing the change in the amount of voids in the water rod before and after uranium 235 of the fuel rods extinguishes.
There is a method of adjusting the amount of the cooling water that flows in the reactor core without the need of newly providing operation means such as water purge rods. That is, the cooling water is permitted to flow in small amounts in the reactor core during the start of the fuel cycle, and is then permitted to flow in increased amounts as the fuel cycle proceeds halfway.
Advantages will now be described in the case when the number of hydrogen atoms is changed in the reactor core accompanying the burn of the nuclear fuel substances.
In the case of a typical fuel assembly used for boiling-water reactors, a higher burning degree can be obtained when the operation is carried out at a high void fraction (void fraction, 50%) during the period of a burning degree of 0 to 30 GWD/T and when the operation is carried out at a decreased void fraction (void fraction, 30%) during the period of a burning degree of 30 to 40 GWD/T than when the operation is carried out at a constant void fraction (e.g., at a void fraction of 30%).
This is because, the neutrons have a high average speed and are easily absorbed by uranium 238 when the void fraction is high and the ratio of the number of hydrogen atoms to the number of uranium atoms is small, i.e., when the number of hydrogen atoms is small. The nuclear fuel substances used in the boiling-water reactor contains uranium 235 and uranium 238, uranium 235 occupying several per cent of the whole nuclear fuel substances and uranium 238 occupying most of the nuclear fuel substances. Among them, uranium 235 absorbs the neutrons and develops chiefly the nuclear fission, but uranium 238 develops nuclear fission very little. Therefore, the burn-up decreases if uranium 235 burns and decreases.
Uranium 238, however, is converted into plutonium 239 when it absorbes neutrons of a large energy produced by the nuclear fission. Like uranium 235, however, plutonium 239 absorbs decelerated thermal neutrons to develop nuclear fission. The higher the void fraction, the larger the energy of the neutrons and uranium 238 is converted into plutonium 239 at an increased ratio, while suppressing the nuclear fission of uranium 235 and plutonium 239. Therefore, the higher the void fraction, the slower the rate of reduction of the total amount of uranium 235 and plutonium 239.
A high void fraction, however, causes the absolute value of reactivity to decrease. If the void fraction is maintained high, therefore, a minimum level is reached quickly at which the reactivity maintains the criticality compared with when the void fraction is low. Therefore, if the void fraction is lowered at that moment, the neutrons exhibit increased deceleration effect, whereby nuclear fission of uranium 235 and plutonium 239 increases, so that good reactivity is obtained compared with when the fuel substances are burned at a high void fraction that is maintained constant. This makes it possible to burn the core material contained in the nuclear fuel substances for an extended period of time before a minimum reactivity necessary for the criticality is reached.
In the foregoing was mentioned the principle which is called spectrum shift operation for effectively utilizing the nuclear fuel substances by changing the void fraction accompanying the burn of the core material.
Neither the method which provides static means in a simply constructed water rod nor the method which changes the number of hydrogen atoms in the reactor core by changing the amount of the cooling water (called reactor core flow rate) which flows through the reactor core, makes it possible to widely change the void fraction in the reactor core; i.e., these methods can only give small effect in the practical nuclear reactors.
That is, the lower limit of the flow rate in the reactor core is determined by the thermal limit, and the upper limit is determined by the capacity of the circulation pump and the flow-induced vibration. Under the condition where the boiling-water reactor is producing a rated thermal output, therefore, it is allowed to change the void fraction only within a narrow range with the rated 100% flow rate in the reactor core as a center. For example, if the flow rate in the reactor core is allowed to change over a range of from 80 to 120%, then the void fraction can be changed by about 9%.
Even with the structure in which a heat generating member (nuclear fuel substance) of which the calorific power decreases accompanying the burn, is placed in the water rod as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 38589/1986, the void fraction in the water rod changes by about 30% at the greatest. The water in the water rod does not contribute to the cooling, and it is not allowed to much increase the sectional area of the water rod in the fuel assembly. If it is presumed that the sectional area of the water rod occupies 30% of the cooling water path in the fuel assembly, the effective void fraction change of 30% becomes 9% (30%.times.0.3) if it is regarded as the whole fuel assembly. Further, since a fuel rod having a low enrichment is used as a heat generating member, the structure becomes complex and its production involves cumbersome operation.
To achieve a wide range of void fraction change, the flow rate in the water rod should be changed extremely greatly or the calorific power of the nuclear fuel substance in the water rod should be changed greatly. In fact, however, the flow rate or the calorific power cannot be greatly changed without employing the moving portions. Provision of the moving portions, however, poses problems from the standpoint of reliability and makes the mechanism complex.